Connor Claims Western Australian Women's Enduro Title

Wellard/CLAAS/Yamaha rider Shelley Connor has won the Western Australian State Women’s Enduro title in her first year of the competition.

The university student from Kensington, clinched the series in a nail-biting finale decided by a double header round in the rugged terrain near Busselton, three hours south of Perth.

“An extremely technical special test on Saturday morning left me feeling pretty unsettled on the bike and the difficulty of it combined with the wet, slippy conditions got into my head a little. I knew mistakes would be easy to make and how vital it was to not make any considering how close the points were,” Connor said.

While the course was hampered by light rain in the morning, challenging the riders’ skillset as they battled through the wet conditions, the weather cleared later in the day as Connor showed her fierce competitiveness and managed to power her YZ250F to victory.

Wellard Chairman, Mauro Balzarini, said the company is inspired by Connor’s performance in what was a very competitive field for her first Enduro competition.

“Wellard prides itself on its philosophy of passion, commitment and the courage to innovate. We are so happy to be a part of such a special day for Shelley, she showed these qualities as she rode to victory,” Mr Balzarini said.

“Shelley is an outstanding rider and has shown that motorcycle riding is not just a male’s domain any longer, she has proven herself a fierce competitor and Wellard is proud to support her journey.”

Connor will again represent Wellard when she competes at the 2014 Australian Four Day Enduro in New South Wales, Australia.

Wellard Rural Exports is the world’s biggest livestock exporter. In the United States it exports and ships dairy and beef cattle to a number of emerging markets rebuilding their cattle herds. The cattle are transported on purpose-built, state of the art livestock carriers with superior feed, water and ventilation systems, and are cared for by experienced stockmen and stockwomen and a dedicated on-board crew.

Connor races through the Enduro course at Busselton in Western Australia

Connor finishes at the top of the podium after outperforming the rest of the Enduro competitors

Background – Wellard Rural and Trading

Wellard is a world leader in the production and distribution of livestock and grain.

Its two largest subsidiaries are Wellard Rural Exports, Australia’s largest livestock exporter and ship owner, and Wellard Agri, a large mixed farming land owner and operator specialising in the production of grains, legumes and livestock.

Wellard Rural Exports has supplied quality dairy and beef cattle and sheep and goats to the world for more than 30 years, its investment in the live export industry is without peer. Based in Fremantle, Western Australia, the company’s operations cover every aspect of the export chain, including feed milling, livestock aggregation, road transport, feedlot facilities throughout Australia and modern shipping.

The company’s flagship carrier, the MV Ocean Drover (formerly the MV Becrux), is a purpose-built livestock carrier capable of carrying 75,000 sheep or 18,000 cattle to major markets around the globe. She was commissioned in 2002.

Two new, technologically advanced, purpose-built vessels, the MV Ocean Swagman and the MV Ocean Outback, were launched in 2010. They offer unparalleled levels of safety for the livestock, crew and vessel, and can transport 7000 cattle, 25,000 sheep, or a combination of both.

Wellard Agri owns and operates eight farms covering 33,000 hectares across three agri-hubs. The two northern hubs are located at Dongara and Watheroo in Western Australia’s central midlands and one is located at Kojonup in the Great Southern region of WA.

The Dongara hub is home to The Grange, a 14,500 hectare property which is considered one of Western Australia’s blue chip farming properties.

The remaining landholding totals more than 18,000 hectares, of which 14,000 hectares is cropped to a variety of grains and legumes. The other 4000ha is devoted to sheep production, including the famous Hyfield Poll Merino stud at Kojonup. In addition, Wellard leases an additional 14,500ha for livestock and grain production.

Wellard Agri also has operations in the farm machinery sector, through management of the CLAAS Harvest Centres at Katanning and Esperance for the Landpower range of farm machinery.